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The Case of the Disappearing Documents

One collector's love for presidential memorabilia lasted decades—and led to an indictment roiling a cloistered world.

By

Ellen Gamerman

September 30, 2011

At age 10, Barry Landau wrote a letter to Dwight D. Eisenhower, admiring his "very beautiful" wife and offering his assessment of where the general stood in the country's pantheon of great leaders. "I think you lived the most exciting and the most interesting life then [sic] any other President of our United States," according to a copy of the letter released by the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.

The boy got a card back from the White House, triggering a lifelong love of historical...